.¶
And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, 2 Speak unto the children
of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the
beasts that are on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parteth
the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheetah the cud, among the beasts, that
shall ye eat..4
Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them
that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheetah the cud, but divideth
not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 5 And the coney, because
he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 6 And the hare, because
he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you..7
And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth
not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall
ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

2
- Speak unto the children of Israel Although directed to
Israel, the rules are health principles which apply to us today. They are
important because of our responsibility to keep pure and strong bodies
1co0317,
1co1031.
See Note below.4
- Not eat A comparison of clean and unclean creatures shows
that the unclean ones tend to eat or live in filth themselves.5 -
Coney
Like a rabbit but apparently not the animal intended here pr3026.6 -
Hare
... cheweth As we define it today, hares (like rabbits) do not
chew the cud although they appear to. The people Moses originally wrote
for would have understood that they did. The animal is still unclean as
noted.7 -
Swine
Most noted for its filth or uncleanness is6503,
is6617.

.9
¶ These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath
fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall
ye eat. 10 And all that have
not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in
the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall
be an abomination unto you: 11 They shall be even
an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall
have their carcases in abomination. 12 Whatsoever hath no
fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

9 -
All
that are in the waters This is a broad statement but very clear.

13 And these are they
which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten,
they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14 And the vulture,
and the kite after his kind; 15 Every raven after
his kind; 16 And the owl, and
the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17 And the little owl,
and the cormorant, and the great owl,.18
And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the
heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

20 ¶ All fowls that creep,
going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. 21 Yet these may ye
eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have
legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;.22
Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald
locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper
after his kind. 23 But all other flying
creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

21
- Flying thing ... leap Such insects have been eaten and
probably still are.22
- Beetle Maybe a cricket or a species of locust. The four
insects were eaten regularly. From recent Middle-Eastern sources, we understand
that they are prepared by being thrown into boiling salt water, then heads,
legs and wings removed.

24 And for these ye
shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean
until the even. 25 And whosoever beareth
ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until
the even. 26 The carcases of every
beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the
cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. 27 And whatsoever goeth
upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are
unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the
even. 28 And he that beareth
the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even:
they are unclean unto you.

-

.29
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep
upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, 30 And the ferret, and
the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. 31 These are unclean
to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead,
shall be unclean until the even..32
And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall
be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack,
whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into
water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.

29
- Weasel Probably correctly identified by translators.29
- After his kind This may help us understand the phrase in
Genesis. For example, ge0124.30
- Ferret Maybe the geko.

33 And every earthen
vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean;
and ye shall break it. 34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on
which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk
in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And every thing whereupon
any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven,
or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and
shall be unclean unto you. 36 Nevertheless a fountain
or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which
toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of
their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be
clean. 38 But if any water
be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall
be unclean unto you.

33
- Earthen vessel ... break it The fired containers absorb
liquids and could not be cleaned.

39 And if any beast,
of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be
unclean until the even. 40 And he that eateth
of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even:
he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean
until the even.

o

41 And every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not
be eaten. 42 Whatsoever goeth
upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath
more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye
shall not eat; for they are an abomination..43
¶ Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing
that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that
ye should be defiled thereby..44
For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and
ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with
any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am the LORD
that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall
therefore be holy, for I am holy.

44
- Holy for I am holy We are not called to equal the holiness
of the Father but to live totally committed to growth in grace as the Lord
provides. This is not an excuse for knowingly living in sin.

.46
This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature
that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the
earth:.47
To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the
beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

46
- Law of beasts ... A nice summary.47
- Difference between It is clarified that unclean creatures
were not to be eaten.

.

NoteReasons to believe
that the health laws in this chapter (above) are for us today.

We
don't see ceremonial significance, although a rule could have a dual purpose.The
distinction between clean and unclean was clarified before there was an
Israelite ge0701. In fact it appears
in Leviticus at le0719.No
meat was in the original human diet ge0129.
The divine exception came at the time of the flood ge0903.
After the flood, plant food would have been scarce.Life
spans were much shorter after the flood when certain flesh food was permitted.The
clean and unclean distinction is seen to apply to more than Israelites
le1713.God
planned to save His people from the diseases of Egypt ex1526,
de2860.Finally,
the God who created the animals and preserved certain ones is well qualified
to tell us which ones we should not eat. Also see on ac1010ff.